Anyone have high level input on furnaces and water heaters? Water heater is ~15 years old, softened water and I expect it to die or leak in the short term ish. I changed the anode when I moved in and it was down to a nub, didn't seem like anyone else ever changed it before.
Furnace is mid efficiency from the 90s, Air Conditioner was added in about 2016. If I replace the furnace does it limit me on the evap coil as far as which furnace brands I can look at?
I assume if I replace the furnace and hot water tank with hi-efficiency/PVC venting, you seal up the B-Vent, run PVC through sidewall... I suspect I could leverage the current air intake for the furnace and replace this with concentric vent PVC?
Is it a problem if my house gets dry so my hardwood floors creak?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deviaant
Do you have a humidifier in your house?
I'd bet if you measured the humidity in your house you would see it's really dry. Which is common in winter months. Dry wood shrinks and wet wood expands. Its perfectly normal and not a huge issue. I would bet the creeking in the floor would fix itself in the spring time.
Yeah, humidifier should make a difference. Another thing you can do is get a whole bunch of those cheap wood shims from Home Depot. From the basement, just tap them between the joists and the subfloor any place you have access from underneath. Even if your basement is finished, often there are storage rooms, laundry rooms, etc. with exposed ceilings and you can eliminate a lot of the squeaking with 20 minutes of work shimming and $20 in supplies.
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Anyone have experience joining new drywall to existing rock/plaster lath? The ceiling is an inch worth of old cement type material and the corners are plaster/rock with an expanded steel mesh imbedded.
Thinking I may be able to run a cutoff wheel in the corner to get a decent edge, but I’m hearing mixed reviews on new drywall to old plaster joints.
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Anyone have experience joining new drywall to existing rock/plaster lath? The ceiling is an inch worth of old cement type material and the corners are plaster/rock with an expanded steel mesh imbedded.
Thinking I may be able to run a cutoff wheel in the corner to get a decent edge, but I’m hearing mixed reviews on new drywall to old plaster joints.
I used it between drywall and some steel cabinets I embedded in the wall and it worked great. You can't sand it very much though, as it's fiber reinforced and sanding pulls the fibers. It also sets very fast so you mix to a pancake batter consistency and get it smooth before it sets. You can also just partial fill with this and use a standard drywall compound to finish.
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Ya, it sucks. I had it in my bathroom, fortunately I was tiling that wall, so just cut it. You may be better to figure out how far it goes in the ceiling away from the wall, cut the plaster along the line, and pull it out. Then fill with mud and tape. Otherwise you are always fighting it. Maybe Google it, see if that is a good idea or not...Then let me know, as I'll have to do it in my kitchen one day!
So about a month ago while at Rona for another project, I came across a pallet of oak stair treads and risers, the treads were $25 each. My basement stairs are super beat up after years of it the basement being my shop before I had a garage, so I've been thinking about what to do with them no that they are only handling normal house duties. Given covid, it seemed like a good opportunity for a little project. So I bout one tread and riser, and they looked like they would fit well.
I had a chat with Bigtime, who saved me loads of money on the risers by recommending just grabbing a sheet of 1/4" oak from him, (and I picked up a Kregg circular saw jig while I was at it, because every project needs a new tool) and using those instead of 3/4" thick risers. Sold!
I ended up building a tread gauge, which I highly recommend, as most stairs are not straight or square, certainly not my 65 year old ones. They also had an odd construction, which required an extra piece of trim, shimmed to my uneven walls. The gauge is really easy to make, and ensures a mostly tight fit, for the treads and risers. Mine were pretty uneven, nothing a little molding sealant wouldn't take care of at the end.
Anyway, a pretty enjoyable job, compared to some home renos I've done. I only wish I still had some of my shop in the basement, as the numerous trips in and out were done extremely rapidly in the cold!
All in it was around $300.
Spoiler!
Before:
After:
Tread gauge:
Last edited by Fuzz; 02-07-2021 at 02:54 PM.
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So about a month ago while at Rona for another project, I came across a pallet of oak stair treads and risers, the treads were $25 each. My basement stairs are super beat up after years of it the basement being my shop before I had a garage, so I've been thinking about what to do with them no that they are only handling normal house duties. Given covid, it seemed like a good opportunity for a little project. So I bout one tread and riser, and they looked like they would fit well.
I had a chat with Bigtime, who saved me loads of money on the risers by recommending just grabbing a sheet of 1/4" oak from him, (and I picked up a Kregg circular saw jig while I was at it, because every project needs a new tool) and using those instead of 3/4" thick risers. Sold!
I ended up building a tread gauge, which I highly recommend, as most stairs are not straight or square, certainly not my 65 year old ones. They also had an odd construction, which required an extra piece of trim, shimmed to my uneven walls. The gauge is really easy to make, and ensures a mostly tight fit, for the treads and risers. Mine were pretty uneven, nothing a little molding sealant wouldn't take care of at the end.
Anyway, a pretty enjoyable job, compared to some home renos I've done. I only wish I still had some of my shop in the basement, as the numerous trips in and out were done extremely rapidly in the cold!
All in it was around $300.
Spoiler!
Before:
After:
Tread gauge:
That is the ugliest staircase I've ever seen. What's the name of your Construction Company? I just want to make sure I never hire you.
I kid...good job, I'm exceptionally envious of your motivation.
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Can a pipe be frozen if it isn't cold? Water is coming up from the main line and seems to be getting stuck at a pipe where it it forks in the basement. Line that feeds the sink and toilet in the bathroom works and water is coming out fine but not getting any water flow upstairs.
Can a pipe be frozen if it isn't cold? Water is coming up from the main line and seems to be getting stuck at a pipe where it it forks in the basement. Line that feeds the sink and toilet in the bathroom works and water is coming out fine but not getting any water flow upstairs.
Any one experienced anything similar?
Doesn't seem likely... is the pressure in the sink downstairs normal? I wonder if there's a city water main that is leaking from the cold somewhere and the pressure into your house is reduced as a result. I guess the other thing would be if the line that runs upstairs is on an exterior wall and not properly vapor barried/insulated past the tee.
Doesn't seem likely... is the pressure in the sink downstairs normal? I wonder if there's a city water main that is leaking from the cold somewhere and the pressure into your house is reduced as a result. I guess the other thing would be if the line that runs upstairs is on an exterior wall and not properly vapor barried/insulated past the tee.
Well in this weather, any water line running in an exterior wall is at risk of freezing, insulation be damned. Vapor barrier should be a non issue, but yes, insulation and proximity to the warm zone will be a factor.
Totally possible that it froze after the tee on the way to the upstairs. I'd run some hot+cold water slow for a couple hours from the tap that is still working and crack open to do the same on the frozen upstairs. Goal is that:
a) if the line is indeed frozen, the increased pressure from the freeze doesn't blow anything out (by having upstairs cracked)
b) the radiant heat from the working line (by having hot+cold running - we're talking over level faster than a drip) helps thaw out the frozen part and and frozen tap will work itself open if left open a tad.
Last edited by Ducay; 02-09-2021 at 05:25 PM.
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Well in this weather, any water line running in an exterior wall is at risk of freezing, insulation be damned. Vapor barrier should be a non issue, but yes, insulation and proximity to the warm zone will be a factor.
Totally possible that it froze after the tee on the way to the upstairs. I'd run some hot+cold water slow for a couple hours from the tap that is still working and crack open to do the same on the frozen upstairs. Goal is that:
a) if the line is indeed frozen, the increased pressure from the freeze doesn't blow anything out (by having upstairs cracked)
b) the radiant heat from the working line (by having hot+cold running - we're talking over level faster than a drip) helps thaw out the frozen part and and frozen tap will work itself open if left open a tad.
Yeah, borrowed a corworkers propane heater and that got it flowing. Not sure if it was at that T or somewhere behind the wall but will leave the water flowing tonight.
Pray for no burst pipes!
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Does anyone on CP do tiling? Looking to do a very small space in my basement for my walkout, currently carpet for the walkway. Or does anyone have a referral?
Yeah, humidifier should make a difference. Another thing you can do is get a whole bunch of those cheap wood shims from Home Depot. From the basement, just tap them between the joists and the subfloor any place you have access from underneath. Even if your basement is finished, often there are storage rooms, laundry rooms, etc. with exposed ceilings and you can eliminate a lot of the squeaking with 20 minutes of work shimming and $20 in supplies.
Do this, and don’t start aimlessly firing nails into it like the moron who owned my place before me.
So many socks with holes. So many re-hammering sessions.
How big of a deal is attic rain? Ive had a couple roofing companies try to figure out a water issue and one of them noticed a small amount of attic rain (small drops of moisture frozen to the top of the attic). Is any attic rain a big deal or a little bit unavoidable? I always run the fan after a shower for 30 min(timer), we dont have a humidifier, no pot lights upstairs, and aside from a small humidifer used for my son (3) who gets a dry cough because of the dry air when sleeping there isnt much else I could do. I actually had the humidity tested recently and it came back as normal (cant remember the %) but they said its not too high.
There is water running down the side of the house (frozen now of course) and numerous roofing companies cant figure out why. The attic seems fine in that area (aside from the small bits of attic rain). Theres a valley that wasnt shingled properly which was leaking but that has since been replaced last month, and since then I still notice water coming down the side of the house below that area. I (and the roofers) dont understand how water could come down there if the roof isnt an issue. The soffits are solid (non breathable) so theres a small chance of moisture accumulation there
Are you getting ice damming causing water to run back, under the roofing material (and eventually back down the wall)? Do you get icicles in the area you're seeing water running down?
Based on the attic rain as well, it could be caused by an improperly installed (or missing) air barrier between your conditioned interior and (I'm assuming) unconditioned attic.
Warm moist air gets up into your attic, condenses on cold underside of your roof sheathing, drips down, wets your insulation reducing its efficacy increasing the ice damming.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snipetype
k im just not going to respond to your #### anymore because i have better things to do like #### my model girlfriend rather then try to convince people like you of commonly held hockey knowledge.
Yes, ice damming but that was cleared last month. And the roof was fixed in that area too. But there’s still water on the side. I just don’t get where it could be coming from
I've come to the conclusion the only way to really know for sure where the water is coming from is to open up a soffit. They're solid, no perforated, which doesn't make sense to me after speaking to a few attic people. But I've driven around and about 90% of the houses have solid soffits. Why would a builder use solid ones if the perforated ones would be the same cost (assuming) and help the attic breathe better?
I've come to the conclusion the only way to really know for sure where the water is coming from is to open up a soffit. They're solid, no perforated, which doesn't make sense to me after speaking to a few attic people. But I've driven around and about 90% of the houses have solid soffits. Why would a builder use solid ones if the perforated ones would be the same cost (assuming) and help the attic breathe better?
If the soffit is within I believe 1.2m of the property line it has to be non-vented. You can look the distance up online, but when I did my garage I followed that, and the inspector definitely noted it.
